But wait - there's more. Later on I was working under the car and looked up to see an unfamiliar tail, just above me, very close.Backtrack to the tree in question: I've been concerned about our Catalpa trees losing a lot of foliage to Catalpa Sphinx caterpillars. While the caterpillars are somewhat impressive, the effect of a multitude rather turns one's opinion:

Enter the Yellow-billed Cuckoo!

The first I ever photographed.

A pair of them were feasting on the caterpillars, hurrah and hooray!

This was at a distance of about 85 feet.

Not counting the elevation!

Yes I've heard Cuckoos aren't the nicest regarding nests of others, but today they're my heroes. I looked for one of the caterpillars to show and the first I found was the victim of some parasitic insect (wasp?) but I ain't crying.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Odd
coincidence: I first spotted this butterfly earlier today on a Kentucky
license plate. It's a Viceroy, easily confused with the more famous
Monarch. Some think Mother Nature hopes that birds will make the same
mistake and avoid eating it as the Monarch supposedly tastes bad.